Spider-Man/Trivia
Trivia about Spider-Man. * The studio had expressed interest in actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Freddie Prinze, Jr, Chris Klein, Wes Bentley, and Heath Ledger. DiCaprio had been considered by James Cameron for the role in 1995, while Raimi joked of Prinze that "he won't even be allowed to buy a ticket to see this film." In addition, actors Scott Speedman, Jay Rodan, and James Franco were involved in screen tests for the lead role. Franco was cast as Harry Osborn instead. * Before Willem Dafoe received the role of the Green Goblin, Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich and Robert De Niro were offered the role. Malkovich and Dafoe starred together in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), which was produced by Nicolas Cage. Edward Norton was offered the role of the Green Goblin but opted to Red Dragon (2002) instead. * Mena Suvari, Elisha Cuthbert and Eliza Dushku had auditioned for the role of Mary Jane Watson. In Tobey Maguire's screen test (as seen on the DVD), the actress playing Mary Jane Watson was Eliza Dushku, Alicia Witt was considered for the role of Mary-Jane Watson. * Marion Ross was considered for the role of Aunt May. * The Green Goblin was chosen as the film's main villain since Sam Raimi felt the father-son theme (Norman and Harry Osborn and Peter Parker) would make the film deeper. * In addition to both Peter Parker and Norman Osborn wearing their enemy's costume colors during the Thanksgiving dinner scene, Harry Osborn is seen wearing all of the colors. He's wearing a green shirt, red tie and blue coat. * Sam Raimi was not Sony's first choice as director. Others considered were Tony Scott, Jan de Bont, James Cameron, Roland Emmerich, Ang Lee and David Fincher. * Pre-production planning for Spider-Man actually began in 1986 by Cannon Films. Later, Cannon sold the production rights to Carolco Pictures. Carolco would later sell the production rights to Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Sony and Marvel produced the Spider-Man film we see today, released through Sony's Columbia Pictures division. * James Cameron wrote a treatment for this film over the years as the rights to the character jumped between companies. Nearly all of his ideas were scrapped except for the biological web shooters. * The writers Alvin Sargent & Scott Rosenberg contribute to the last uncredited re-write on the shooting script. * In preparation for his role, Tobey Maguire trained for a short while before the screen test. After he got the role, he went on a strict exercise regime and a specific diet for five months. * The scene at Columbia University was filmed on an unseasonably warm spring day. However, the costume department had provided the high school extras with cold-weather clothing. The real Columbia University students can be seen in the background wearing shorts and t-shirts by contrast. * A welder building sets for the movie was killed on 6 March 2001 when a crane toppled onto a construction basket in which he was riding and struck him in the head. * Zach Hudson, the stunt double for Tobey Maguire, fractured his leg after a stunt went wrong and he slammed in to a brick wall. * Several Spider-Man costumes were created at a cost of up to $100,000 each. Four were stolen from the set in early April of 2001 and Columbia Pictures posted a $25,000 reward for their return. The costumes were not returned. * The movie cost over $100 million to produce, and another $30 million to promote. * The studio expressed an interest in Leonardo DiCaprio and Freddie Prinze Jr playing the part of Spider-Man. Scott Speedman, Jay Rodan and James Franco all actually tested for the part. * When Sam Raimi first mooted the idea that he wanted to cast Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, the studio was initially very reluctant. That was until they saw Maguire's test and they saw that the actor had clearly bulked up for the role. * Tobey Maguire had to have his Spider-Man outfit slightly remodeled as the original design had not made any allowances for when the actor needed a bathroom break. A vent was added to enable him to perform that function without having to take the entire costume off. * The shoot was fast-tracked due to an impending actors/ directors/ writers strike that was anticipated for summer 2001. The strike never actually took place. * One of the chief difficulties that Tobey Maguire experienced in the now-famous upside-down kissing scene was that his sinuses kept filling up with water as it was performed in driving rain. * In the final battle between Spider-Man and the Goblin, the CGI artists had to change the color of the blood pouring from Spider-Man's mouth to a clear liquid, indicating spit. This was to ensure a PG rating. * Although Spider-Man is an iconic figure for New York, the majority of the film was actually made in Los Angeles. Only two weeks' worth of location filming was done in the Big Apple. * James Franco's hair was dyed brown to give him some resemblance to Willem Dafoe, his screen father. This decision was only made after filming had begun. Indeed, in the scene where Harry visits Aunt May in hospital, you can see that Franco's hair is his usual black. * Some of the spiders used in the film were imported from New Zealand. * One of the reasons why Sam Raimi was a popular choice with Sony for the director's gig was because he is an avid comic book collector in his private life, with a collection of over 25,000. * Some of the directors who had been attached to the project over the years include Tobe Hooper, Joseph Zito and Stephen Herek. A longtime contender to direct was Albert Pyun when the film rights were held by Cannon, as he had already made a superhero adaptation with "Captain America" (1990). * By signing on for two sequels, Tobey Maguire secured himself a paycheck of $26 million. * The interior of the visit to Columbia University was actually filmed in the main rotunda of the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles. The large electron microscope in the center of the set was actually made of plywood, plaster and fiberglass, concealing three 16-foot bronze centerpieces. * The construction crew for the art department spent almost a year building the 100 sets needed for the film. * Cliff Robertson plays Uncle Ben Parker. In reality, Robertson's middle name is Parker too. * Although Uncle Ben claims to be 68 in the film, Cliff Robertson was 75 at the time of filming. Make-up artists still made him look a little older. * The first scene filmed was when Peter returns from his field-trip, feverish after being bitten by the spider. * To acquire his bumped-up physique, Tobey Maguire went through a strict five-month regimen of exercise, weight training and martial arts six times a week, as well as eating a high protein meal four to six times a day. * Spider-Man's webbing in the film is made out of foam materials and fishing line. It was also enhanced with CGI. * In order to come up with the look of the high school kids, the costume department sent disposable cameras to schoolteachers in New York City and had them distribute them among their students to take pictures of each other. * Color costume considerations meant that Spider-Man was shot in front of a green screen, while the Green Goblin was shot in front of a blue one. * The genetically modified spider that bit Peter Parker was not a black widow spider but a Steatoda spider, which was chosen by Steven R. Kutcher and painted red and blue by Jens Schnabel while the spider was anesthetized. * The sketches Peter Parker does of his costume were actually done by Phil Jimenez, an artist on "Wonder Woman" comics. * The original trailer for the movie depicted a theft of a bank, with the robbers making a getaway in a helicopter. A close-up of the helicopter was shown, until the helicopter stopped, apparently caught in mid-air. As the camera zoomed out, it was shown that the helicopter was caught in a spider web, suspended between the two towers of the World Trade Center. After the attacks on the towers 11 September 2001, however, the trailer was changed. * The World Trade Center Towers can be seen in the background of some scenes and once in the reflection of Spider-Man's eye. In addition, during the ending scene where he is swinging around the American trade building, you can see the towers in the far background slightly blurred. The makers of the film chose not to remove them digitally. * The owners of the billboards that surround Times Square attempted to sue Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Marvel Enterprises, and the other companies involved with the production of Spider-Man for "digitally superimposing advertisements for other companies over their billboard space in the film." The suit was thrown out by a federal judge in New York. * Bleu's song "Somebody Else" was originally written to be the theme for a different superhero, Superman for the TV series "Smallville" (2001). * In the comics, Peter Parker designed and made Spider-Man's synthetic spider web and the mechanical wrist guns that fire it. In the movie he shoots the web from his own body. Director Sam Raimi answered the protests of comic book fans saying that it was more credible to have Peter shoot web this way than for a high school boy to be able to produce a wonder adhesive in his spare time that 3M could not make. * Tobey Maguire said he had never read a Spider-Man comic book but took the role because he liked the script. * Willem Dafoe was never an intended choice to play the Green Goblin. After the script fell into his possession, he began lobbying for the role and met with Sam Raimi. Sometime later, while filming a movie in Spain, Dafoe was approached and shot some test footage inside the hotel room he was staying. It led to his being cast. Once he received the role, Dafoe asked that he be allowed to perform his own stunts so that the character and movements would feel authentic, or else the audience would notice the difference. He performed about 95% of his own stunts, and unlike many of the stunt crew, learned how to handle the Goblin Glider after just 15 minutes. Having such a great time during filming, he offered to return for the sequel and asked if they could write him in somewhere. Sam Raimi took him up on the offer and both of them set aside a specific day of filming on Spider-Man 2 for Dafoe to shoot Norman Osborn's cameo sequence. * During the fight between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man near the end of the movie, Willem Dafoe accidentally clipped Tobey Maguire on the chin with one blow. * According to visual effects supervisor John Dykstra, animating Spider-Man was the most sophisticated task he had accomplished at that time. Sam Raimi wanted to convey the essence of being Spider-Man ("the transition that occurs, between him being a young man going through puberty and being a superhero"); but the main difficulty was that as the character was masked, there was no context of eyes/mouth and it immediately lost a lot of characterization; thus the animators had to insert a lot of body language into his movements so that there would be some emotional content. * The film contains multiple references to future Spider-Man villains: Doctor Curtis Connors (Lizard), Eddie Brock (Venom), Harry Osborn (Green Goblin No. 2), Mendel Stromm (Robot Master). * In the film, Peter mentioned Dr. Curt Connors firing him. Connors appeared in Spider-Man 2 (2004). * The sequence of Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) talking to his board members begins with the same shot (a steady pull back along a table framed symmetrically) and dialogue "Costs are down, revenues are up, and our stock has never been higher" as a scene in The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), in which Sam Raimi was co-writer and 2nd unit director. Both films also have a fast-talking newspaper chief. * In the scene where The Green Goblin attempts to form an alliance with Spider-Man, the Goblin confuses the words "fail" and "fall." This is a direct reference to a similar scene between Tim Robbins and Charles Durning in The Hudsucker Proxy (1994). * A sign in front of Peter Parker and Harry Osborne's apartment building: Webstring Platform. * During the World Unity parade, a billboard for Terminix can be seen, one of many insect-related inside jokes. * Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom, appears in a non-speaking cameo as a board member of Oscorp, Norman Osborn's company. * When Spider-Man fights with his uncle's killer, he smashes a couple of glass panes with his head. In Sam Raimi's Darkman (1990), his first superhero film, the thugs attack Liam Neeson the same way in his lab. At the end of the film, Spider-Man walks away from his beloved, saying, "I'm Spider-Man." This is also identical to the ending sequence of "Darkman." * When Peter Parker is testing out his webbing for the first time, he says several classic DC Comics (archrival of Marvel Comics) catchphrases, most notably "Up, up and away, Web!" (Superman (1978)) and "Shazam!" (DC's Captain Marvel, aka "Shazam!" (1974)). Tobey Maguire ad-libbed these lines, which were not in the original script. * When Peter Parker tests out his webbing for the first time, among the notable catch phrases he says, he also uses the same gesture (middle and third fingers folded into the palm, the rest extended outward) he typically uses in the comic books to fire his mechanical webbing wrist guns. * During the ending credits, the theme of the original "Spider-Man" (1967) animated series is played. * During the World Unity Fair fight scene, in the background one of the signs on the buildings shows a police officer and behind him read the words "Protecting, Serving, Blah Blah Blah." * One of Peter's sketches for his costume is of Marvel Comics superhero Stingray. * One of Peter's sketches for possible costume ideas is nearly identical to the black-and-white suit Spider-Man wore in the comics during the early-to-mid-1980s (which would eventually become the costume for Venom), except that the spider insignia is red, not white. Peter's note on this sketch: "Needs more color." * When Peter Parker browses through several newspapers looking for a used car, one of the ads shown is for an Alfa Romeo convertible: that model was marketed in Italy under the name Spider. * When Uncle Ben's killer crashes the car into the gate after Spider-Man leaps off, the police car that pulls into frame on the right side has a very obvious license plate with "1927" being the only markings. This 1927 is to honor John Buscema, a legendary comic artist who was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 11, 1927. He sadly passed away on January 10, 2002. Buscema was a great friend of Stan Lee's and worked for both Marvel and DC Comics. * David Koepp's fourth screenplay to hold the opening weekend box office record. The others are Jurassic Park (1993) (June 1993), Mission: Impossible (1996) (May 1996) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) (May 1997). * Actor/stuntman Scott Leva was considered for the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man when the film project was first proposed in the mid-1980s. * Among the page-two headlines advertised on the front page of the Daily Bugle: "Public Clamors for Pest Control" and "New York Fears the Bug - 20 Victims to Date." * Mary Jane's red hair in this movie is a wig; however, Kirsten Dunst liked the look so much, she dyed her hair for the sequels. * The camera that Peter Parker uses is a Canon New F-1 SLR, with the Canon logo blacked out. This camera was marketed in 1981. * The scene in which Peter Parker catches Mary Jane's lunch on the tray involved no CGI. With the help of a sticky substance to keep the tray planted on his hand, Tobey Maguire eventually (after many takes) performed the stunt exactly as seen. * The jumping spider that Peter attempts to take a picture of is an Avondale Spider, the same type used in Arachnophobia (1990). * The smoke in the lab during Norman Osborn's transformation scene was originally white but was then digitally altered to green. Director Sam Raimi wanted to use real green smoke, but went with the CG effect when prop designers could not create a colored smoke that was non-toxic. * Scenes of New Yorkers throwing trash at the Green Goblin and Spider-Man perched alongside the American flag were added after 11 September 2001 to reflect the city's sense of unity and patriotism. * The last few shots of the spider dream sequence were taken from the Lucio Fulci film E tu vivrai nel terrore - L'aldilà (1981). * At the time of its release, the movie passed the US$100 million mark faster than any other movie, in just three days. That record has since been broken by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), which made the mark in just 2 days. Several other movies have also reached this record, including Spider-Man 3 (2007). * Doctor Octopus was in the early draft of the script to appear as the second bad guy. Later on in pre-production it was decided that he be saved for the second movie. * The Daily Bugle newspaper building is actually the Flatiron building, a famous Manhattan landmark that was built in 1902. In the comics, the Bugle's building is on East 38th Street and Second Avenue. * When Peter is making his way to the wrestling ring there is a wounded wrestler screaming in pain, his voice is overdubbed by Bruce Campbell. This technique was also used in Darkman (1990). * The first Marvel movie to showcase the flipping pages Marvel logo. * During the conversation outside the library, Uncle Ben quotes to Peter the famous words, "With great power comes great responsibility." This well-quoted line actually came from a 1962 published issue, so it debuted there 14 years before a short story by Isaac Asimov which later was made into the movie Bicentennial Man (1999), which some attribute wrongly as the source of this phrase. * Entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as having the Highest Box Office Gross in a Single Day, taking in US$43.6 million on its second day of release. * Bonesaw, the wrestler Spider-Man fights for money, is played by real life wrestler Macho Man Randy Savage. Early in his career, Savage wrestled under the name The Spider. * Sam Raimi wanted Bill Pope to be the film's cinematographer, but Pope was busy working on The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). Raimi's second choice was Peter Deming, but he was working on Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). * The balloons at the Unity Festival were made by Aerostar International, Inc., in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. * After the terrorist attacks on the USA of 11 September 2001, Sony recalled teaser posters which showed a close-up of Spiderman's face with the New York skyline (including, prominently, the World Trade Center towers) reflected in his eyes. Not all the posters were recovered, however, and the ones still at large are now highly prized collector's items. * When Jameson's subordinates are trying to tell him about Spider-Man, one of them says, "Eddie's been trying to get a picture of him for weeks." This is a reference to Eddie Brock, who in the comics is a reporter and ultimately becomes the villain named Venom. * The diner that Mary Jane Watson worked at is the same diner (at least the exterior) where Monica worked in the early seasons of "Friends" (1994). * At the beginning of the movie when we first see Mary Jane on the school bus, she is dressed in the Green Goblin's (from the comic book, anyways) colors. Her top is purple and her coat is green. This outfit is also the stereotypical depiction of Gwen Stacy from the comics, who was killed by the Green Goblin in a battle not unlike the bridge scene in the movie. * The Thanksgiving scene when Aunt May puts the turkey in front of Norman is a reference to the Norman Rockwell painting "Freedom From Want". * In the scene where Peter Parker is on his ceiling hiding from Mr. Osbourne, a green sweatshirt with a beaver insignia can be seen on the ground. This is a sweatshirt from Sam Raimi's childhood camp, Tamakwa. * Both Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe incorporated a Yoga technique called Ashtanga into their training regimens for this film. "Ashtanga" translates into English as "eight-legged." * The Moondance Diner where Mary Jane Watson works is the same one that Rent (2005) creator Jonathan Larson (and actor and star of "Rent," Jesse L. Martin) worked at prior to quitting to pursue a career writing musicals. * Peter asks Mary Jane Watson "maybe we could have some lunch some evening." This line originally appeared in Sam Raimi's film Crimewave (1985), 17 years earlier. * The film caused some controversy in England when the BBFC rated it 12, going on record to say it was the most violent movie they had seen that was aimed at younger viewers. The distributor had requested a PG rating, but this was denied due to the levels of "personal violence" and the prevalent revenge theme. Many parents complained about the decision, saying how disappointed their children were at not being able to legally see the film (the 12 at this time was a legal age limit). However, when the new 12A rating was introduced in August 2002, Spider-Man was re-released with this new advisory rating, along with a new marketing campaign stressing that children could now go and see the film. * This movie held the record for biggest opening day ever with $39.4 million. This record was broken by its sequel Spider-Man 2 (2004), and is now currently held by Spider-Man 3 (2007) with $59.8 million, though it made the least box office gross of the three. * Chris Columbus was offered the director's chair but opted to make Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) instead. * When going through Peter's photographs of Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson goes "Crap...crap...crap..." This is a reference to Batman (1989), another "first instalment" superhero film with music composed by Danny Elfman, where the Joker did the same thing with Vicki Vale's photos. * At Norman Osborn's funeral, a headstone can be seen that holds the name "Stacy." This is a reference to Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker's first love interest in the comics and who makes an appearance in Spider-Man 3 (2007). * The rights for Spider-Man were in limbo for years, switching between studios. In fact, in a 1987 issue of Variety there was an advertisement proclaiming that Cannon studios would begin principal photography for the film on Nov. 14, 1988. * Cingular Wireless, whose logo in very prominent within the movie and the movie's promotional campaigns, was not actually available in New York City at the time of the movie's release. * Sam Raimi and John Dykstra worked hard to plan all the web-slinging sequences, which Raimi described as "ballet in the sky." The complexity of such sequences meant the film's budget rose from an initially planned $70 million to around $100 million. * When two studio executives were shown shots of the computer generated Spider-Man, they believed it was actually Tobey Maguire performing the stunts. * A camera system called the Spydercam was developed to express more of Spider-Man's world and point of view. It was able to drop 50 stories (over 600 ft) and with shot lengths of just over 2400 feet or 3200 feet (for shooting in New York City, or Los Angeles), and could shoot at six frames/second to convey a sense of speed. The Spydercam was only used in this film for the final sequence, but was brought into more use for the sequels. * To create Spider-Man's costume, Tobey Maguire was fitted for the skintight outfit, being covered with layers of substance to create the suit's shape. It was designed as a single piece, except for the mask. The webbing that accented the costume was cut by computer. * The Green Goblin's costume was originally designed to be more bulky and armoured, but Willem Dafoe, having decided to film his own stunts, rejected it in favour of a more streamlined and athletic costume. The final outfit was composed of 580 pieces and took Dafoe half an hour to put on. * When Uncle Ben drops Peter off to go to the library, a bus can be seen driving by with a promotional advertisement that reads, The Producers (1968), a 'Mel Brooks (I)' musical. Brooks later sued Sony Pictures Entertainment for unwanted advertisement in motion-picture space. * When James Cameron was developing Spider-Man in the early 1990s, Charlie Sheen actively campaigned for the role, apparently to Cameron's disinterest. After Titanic (1997), Cameron said his only choice was 'Leonardo Dicaprio' before he eventually passed onto other projects. * The film is based on a combination of both the Ultimate Spider-Man comic series and the original Amazing Spider-Man series. For instance, this incarnation of Mary Jane Watson (the "girl next door" version) is from the Ultimates series, while this version of the Green Goblin is from the original Amazing Spider-Man universe. * When the project began in the late 1980s, the role of Mary Jane Watson was considered for many actresses, including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ally Sheedy, Jodie Foster, Natasha Richardson, Phoebe Cates, Tatum O'Neal, Bridget Fonda, Lori Loughlin, Diane Lane, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brooke Shields, Kyra Sedgwick, Justine Bateman, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Molly Ringwald, Jennifer Aniston, Uma Thurman, Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Christina Applegate, Cameron Diaz, Alyssa Milano, Tori Spelling, Neve Campbell, Tiffani Thiessen, Alyson Hannigan and Drew Barrymore. But when the project eventually went into pre-production, all of them were considered too old for the part. * In 1988, director Albert Pyun was hired to direct a "Spider-Man" movie for Cannon Films. Scott Leva was hired to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and filming was set to take place at De Laurentiis' studio in Wilmington, North Carolina. With a $6 million budget, the Brooklyn sets were built for "Spider-Man" on the Wilmington stages and Pyun would also film a sequel to Masters of the Universe (1987) during the same time as "Spider-Man". Pyun had originally planned to film two weeks worth of scenes for "Spider-Man" before Leva's nerdy Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, then Leva would undergo a supervised eight week workout regimen to build muscle mass while director Pyun would film "Masters of the Universe Part 2", and filming for "Spider-Man" would resume for the scenes after Peter gets his spider powers. However, both projects were scrapped when Cannon Films eventually went out of business. * In 1993, James Cameron was hired to rewrite an existing draft for "Spider-Man" for Carolco Pictures. The script was going to feature Liz Allen as Peter Parker's love interest instead of Mary Jane Watson, and the villain was Doctor Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus. Unlike the comics, Octavius was a professor who would be a mentor to college senior Peter Parker, and Otto called himself Professor Octopus after his four mechanical arms become accidentally fused to his body. During the accident that turns Octavius into Doc Ock, Otto is also bitten on the back of the neck by the same radioactive spider that turns Peter into Spider-Man. To make the film more kid-friendly, the company had Doc Ock constantly use the phrase "Okey! Dokey!" and Ock had an assistant named Weiner that later kills Peter's Uncle Ben Parker instead of a burglar that Spider-Man lets get away. Arnold Schwarzenegger was Cameron's first choice for Doctor Octopus and Edward Furlong was considered for Peter Parker, but Carolco ultimately never made a "Spider-Man" film when it ultimately went out of business. * James Cameron had a Spider-Man picture in mind early on in his career. In the early 1990s, Carolco Pictures hired him to write and direct a Spider-Man motion picture. While he originally wrote Doctor Octopus as the lone villain and had Arnold Schwarzenegger in mind for the role of Doc Ock, Cameron later wrote a new draft that featured Peter Parker as a high school senior in love with Mary Jane Watson and Spider-Man would fight two villains, Electro and Sandman. However, Electro was changed from electrical lineman Max Dillon to billionaire businessman Carlton Strand and Sandman was changed from crook Flint Marko to Strand's hired henchman, Boyd. Cameron had intended to cast Michael Biehn as Peter Parker. This is foreshadowed in earlier Cameron movies featuring Michael Biehn when his character gets bit on the hand in The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), and The Abyss (1989). This is a reference to the radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker's hand. However, the director couldn't make his Spider-Man movie when Carolco went bankrupt and soon after the movie rights to Spider-Man went into limbo for several years. * Willem Dafoe performed 95% of his own stunts in the film as he believed it would bring a deeper sense of realism and believability to the character. * In an online interview with the Planet Origo website, director Albert Pyun said that he was hired to direct "Spider-Man" for Cannon Films back in 1988. He said that his movie would have featured the origin of Spider-Man, featured Dr. Curt Connors, a.k.a. the Lizard, as the film's main villain, and that most of the movie would have been featured in the sewers of Brooklyn, where Spider-Man would chase after, and fight with, the Lizard. His plans to direct "Spider-Man" fell through when Cannon Films went bankrupt. * One of the scenes that Tobey Maguire performed for his screen test was the final one in which Peter Parker rejects Mary Jane. * The World Trade Center Towers can be seen in the background of some scenes and once in the reflection of Spider-Man's eye. In addition, during the ending scene where he is swinging around the American trade building, you can see the towers in the far background slightly blurred. The makers of the film chose not to remove them digitally. * Willem Dafoe was never an intended choice to play the Green Goblin. After the script fell into his possession, he began lobbying for the role and met with Sam Raimi. Sometime later, while filming a movie in Spain, Dafoe was approached and shot some test footage inside the hotel room he was staying. It led to his being cast. Once he received the role, Dafoe asked that he be allowed to perform his own stunts so that the character and movements would feel authentic, or else the audience would notice the difference. He performed about 95% of his own stunts, and unlike many of the stunt crew, learned how to handle the Goblin Glider after just 15 minutes. Having such a great time during filming, he offered to return for Spider-Man 2 (2004) and asked if they could write him in somewhere, his character having died in Spider-Man (2002). Sam Raimi took him up on the offer and both of them set aside a specific day of filming on Spider-Man 2 (2004) for Dafoe to shoot Norman Osborn's cameo dream sequence. * When Uncle Ben's killer crashes the car into the gate after Spider-Man leaps off, the police car that pulls into frame on the right side has a very obvious license plate with "1927" being the only markings. This is to honor Stan Lee's great friend, Marvel and DC veteran illustrator John Buscema who was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 11, 1927. He sadly passed away on January 10, 2002. * At the beginning of the movie when we first see Mary Jane on the school bus, she is dressed in the Green Goblin's (from the comic book, anyways) colors. Her top is purple and her coat is green. This outfit is also the uniform of Gwen Stacy from the comics, who was killed by the Green Goblin in a battle not unlike the bridge scene in the movie. * The film's climax is based on the infamous "The Amazing Spider-Man" # 121 comic, "The Night Gwen Stacy Died." In that comic, the Goblin captures Stacy and suspends her over a bridge, and Spider-Man attempts to save her, but fails. In near-insane anger and retaliation he beats the Goblin to near-unconsciousness, and when he tries to use his sled to impale the wall-crawler, it backfires and impales him instead. In the film, the main differences are that Mary-Jane is the one held over a bridge, and she survives. At Osborne's funeral, a gravestone nearby says Stacy. * In 1993, James Cameron was hired to rewrite an existing draft for "Spider-Man" for Carolco Pictures. The script was going to feature Liz Allen as Peter Parker's love interest instead of Mary Jane Watson, and the villain was Doctor Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus. Unlike the comics, Octavius was a professor who would be a mentor to college senior Peter Parker, and Otto called himself Professor Octopus after his four mechanical arms become accidentally fused to his body. During the accident that turns Octavius into Doc Ock, Otto is also bitten on the back of the neck by the same radioactive spider that turns Peter into Spider-Man. To make the film more kid-friendly, the company had Doc Ock constantly use the phrase "Okey! Dokey!" and Ock had an assistant named Weiner that later kills Peter's Uncle Ben Parker instead of a burglar that Spider-Man lets get away. Arnold Schwarzenegger was Cameron's first choice for Doctor Octopus and Edward Furlong was considered for Peter Parker, but Carolco ultimately never made a "Spider-Man" film when it ultimately went out of business. ** It has the biggest opening day for a non-sequel with $114 million. It is currently the 26th Highest Grossing film of all time worldwide. It grossed over $821,708,551. It is the third highest grossing Superhero film of all time, under Spider-Man 3 (2007) and The Dark Knight (2008).Spider-Man was a major commercial success, becoming the first film to pass the $100 million mark in a single weekend. With the release in the United States and Canada on May 3, 2002 on 7,500 screens at 3,615 theaters, the film earned $39,406,872 on its opening day, averaging $10,901 per theater ($5,524.25 per screen). The film earned a total of $114,844,116 during its opening weekend, averaging $31,769 per theater ($15,312.55 per screen) and became the fastest theatrical release to reach $100 million at the time, crossing the milestone in three days. Spider-Man also had the highest opening week in North America box office movie for a non-sequel, with $114 million, which was surpassed 8 years later by Alice in Wonderland in 2010. The film's three-day record was later surpassed by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest in 2006. Spider-Man also set an all-time record for the highest earnings in a single day with $43,622,264 on May 4, 2002, a record later surpassed by Shrek 2 in 2004. The film stayed at the top position in its second weekend, dropping only 38% in its second weekend, grossing another $71,417,527, averaging $19,755.89 per theater ($9,522.34 per screen) and bringing the ten-day total to $223,040,031. The film dropped to the second position in its third weekend, behind Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, but still made $45,036,912, dropping only 37%, averaging $12,458 per theater, and bringing the seventeen-day tally to $285,573,668. It stayed at the second position in its fourth weekend, grossing $35,814,844 over the four-day Memorial Day frame, dropping only 21% while expanding to 3,876 theaters, averaging $9,240 over four days, and bringing the 25-day gross to $333,641,492. In the box office, Spider-Man became the highest-grossing film of 2002 with $403,706,375 in the United States and Canada, defeating The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones''. Spider-Man currently ranks as the 10th highest-grossing film of all time in the U.S. and Canada. The film also grossed $821,708,551 worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing film of 2002 behind The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and currently placing it twenty sixth in worldwide box office ranks. * International markets which generated grosses in excess of $10 million include Australia ($16.9 million), Brazil ($17.4 million), France, Algeria, Monaco, Morocco and Tunisia ($32.9 million), Germany ($30.7 million), Italy ($20.8 million), Japan ($56.2 million), Mexico ($31.2 million), South Korea ($16.98 million), Spain ($23.7 million), and the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta ($45.8 million). * Spider-Man became the highest-grossing superhero film of all time at the time of its release. Throughout the years none of the other superhero films including Spider-Man 2 were able to outgross it. It was eventually outgrossed in 2007 by Spider-Man 3. In 2008, Spider-Man 3 was outgrossed by The Dark Knight. ''Spider-Man''currently ranks as the third highest-grossing superhero film of all time.